CSB - Liam Napier - All Blacks

Team naming Tuesday for the All Blacks as they kick-off their Northern Tour against Japan this Saturday. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:02):
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Well, it's team naming Tuesday for the first of the
All Black tests for their Northern Hemisphere tour, and it
all kicks off against Japan Saturday night six o'clock. We'll
have a commentary here on Gold Sport, joining us on
the CSB this morning out of New Zealand Herald and
the other Rugby Rugby Direct podcast, Liam Napier Morning, Liam Morning, BK.

(00:30):
You'll be getting excited mate, team naming Tuesday.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
It's a bit unusual, isn't it. That is and maybe
maybe the Japanese Rugby Union put out a bit of
a request for the best to put their team out
early and be nice to see some new faces on
the team sheet this week.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yeah. I was just going to say to you, are
you expecting a few different names in the side that
gets named this afternoon? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
I think we'll see mass changes, b K. I think
last time the All Black's played Japan under Ian Foster.
Of course we've had change of coach, but there were
twelve changes to the starting team so it'll be a
similar expectation this time around. Scott Robinson is going to
send a senior contingent of players early to England for

(01:16):
the next Test at Twickenham, and those players will leave
us Friday. Not sure how met exactly, but it will
be your regular starters and so you'd expect to see
a lot of faces that we haven't seen a lot
of this year, Guys like Billy Proctor who wasn't sighted
in the Rugby Championship, a Moor, cam Rougan who's returned

(01:36):
from injury, Stephen, Peterfetter, David Heavili, all these sort of guys.
Peter Luckeye might get a debut because the All Blacks
are very short on the loose forwards having left Luke Jacobson, Dalton,
Papa Lei and there's one another as well at home,
so very short in the loose forwards.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
They've been away whild No. I think they've sort of
had time to climatize in Japan, haven't they. Yeah?

Speaker 2 (02:03):
And I think it's very hot, very humid. Saw some
pieces of Bill Blacks coming off the training padic during
inst in sweat. Even the grid even the grout has
his shirt sticking to him. So it will be very
hot and humid over there. That's pretty standard for this
time of year in Japan, So definitely a change of
climate and that will test them aerobically. Japan will be

(02:26):
accustomed to that, and it'll be interesting to see how
Japan go under Eddie Jones. Have been not great. They've
struggled in recent times. They were been very comfortably by
Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup to determine that the
winner of that competition. So you could say they've gone
backwards in recent times from some of the heights that

(02:48):
we've seen in recent World Cups. So interesting to see
what sort of style of rugby they play and how
they come together under Eddie Jones.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
And of course, I mean Eddie's got quite a reputation really,
hasn't he. So as you said, it'll be interesting to
see just what unfolded. Really, I can't see them winning it,
can you?

Speaker 2 (03:06):
No? No, I can't. But last time out again with
those twelve starting changes, it was a very near thing
for the All Blacks. They struggled and I think it
was a from a memory of late Yellow Reek card
even for Brodie Retallick put the All Blecks under massive
pressure and they got out of jail eventually. But anytime
you make mass changes that you can lose a bit

(03:28):
of cohesion. And yeah, Eddie'll be cooking up something and
he'll fire out a few bombs and try and stir
things up this week, no doubt, so it should be interesting,
but I don't expect this match to have a lot
of relevance for what's to come, those three big tests
against England, Island and France for the All Blacks.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, that's going to be really really interesting. And of
course back here at home this coming weekend, the culmination
of the NPC the Grand Final, Wellington playing Bay and
play did you see that? When the season began?

Speaker 2 (04:00):
I probably expected Wellington to be there defending champions, of course,
but probably wouldn't have wouldn't have tip the bait. It's
to go well, not quite all the way, but certainly
to the Big Dance, their first big dance. So it's
been an amazing season from them and great scenes at
the total in the domain this year and they really

(04:21):
put Canterbury to the sword last weekend, blew them away
in the second half, so very deserving finalists. Richard Watts
as a proud Wellingtonian, so he's done great things with
the Bay and I'm sure he would love nothing more
than then to go back home and tip up his
old province. And obviously Mark's been he's pretty much the

(04:43):
mascot these days, going to make the pilgrimage down to
Wellington for the finals. So yeah, apartly that would like
to see the Bay do it for him, but no,
I'll be I'll be rooting for Wellington, so it should
be a great, great MPC final.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
That's where we wrap you up. Now, that's great, Limb.
We look forward to the All Black Game in particular
on Saturday night as well. Good on, you have a
good one, Liam Napier, and of course we have a
commentary of that All Black game and the Bay game
against Wellington, so it's a wall to wall Gold Sport
commentaries on Saturday three o'clock for the Wellington Bay game

(05:19):
and then six o'clock for the All Blacks and Japan
right here on Gold Sport and iHeartRadio